I am the widow of Philip RS May, G.C., late of Simon Langton Lodge No 7586, Canterbury, St Augustine Chapter No 972, Canterbury and the Macdonald Chapter No 1216, London. My greatest regret is that I have not yet been able to find a publisher for what is a really remarkable book – the only one of its kind dedicated entirely to Freemasons who were, or still are, holders of the Victoria Cross or the George Cross.
    The name of the book is Beyond the Five Points. Written by my husband, it contains the deeds and personal stories of 118 Freemasons from the Crimea to the Second World War who won either the Victoria Cross or the George Cross, the two most esteemed awards for bravery in the history of Great Britain.
    My husband was a man who did nothing by halves and when he decided to do something it took over his whole life. No sacrifice was too great, and no stone left unturned until he had completed his mission. His fire and energy took him to South Africa, Canada, Malta and all over England searching for, talking to, and finding records of all the Freemasons who won either of the two senior British decorations, because there was no other book that brought all these gallant men together between its pages.
    Unfortunately, he died before it was totally completed, and because I was sad for him, and knew the extent of his commitment, I managed finally to get the records together and print them in manuscript form. I am only able to give a small glimpse of his work here, but it is enough to make clear that his labours should not be allowed to pass unnoticed.

The Victoria Cross

It was the bloody battles of the Crimean War in 1854 which, sixteen months later on 29 January 1856, prompted Her Majesty Queen Victoria to institute a new decoration, which was to take precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals.
    The Victoria Cross was to be, and still is, the supreme accolade for gallantry in the face of the enemy, which she demanded should be: “highly prized and eagerly sought after by the officers and men of our Naval and Military Services.”
    The first 85 Victoria Crosses were gazetted on 24 February 1857. Chronologically, the first three went to the Royal Navy for gallantry during actions in the Baltic Sea, June and August 1854. The first awards to the Army for actions on land were made retrospective to the Battle of Alma which took place on 20 September 1854, five days before the famous Charge of the Light Brigade.
    Second place was given to the Albert Medal, to be awarded for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy. It was King George VI who ordained that living recipients of the Albert Medal should be exchanged for the George Cross, which now stands second in order of precedence.

The Crimea

Edward William Derrington Bell, V.C., C.B., Legion d’Honneur, Turkish Order of the Medijide. Captain, (later Major General) 23rd Regiment of Foot, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers. St Paul’s Lodge No 12 (now 374), Montreal, Canada.
    Edward WD Bell was born 18 May 1824 at Kemsley in Worcestershire, son of Lieutenant-General Edward Wells Bell, late of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, who fought at Vittoria and Salamanca, and who later was Governor of Jamaica. At the age of fourteen, young Edward was sent to board at Sandhurst Military College. He joined the Army on 15 April 1842 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 23rd Regiment of Foot, and was posted to Canada, being promoted to Captain and initiated in Freemasonry in December 1848.
    On 14 September 1854, a Franco-British Expeditionary Force of 56,000 men began the assault on the Crimea. Bro Captain Bell was there with the 23rd Regiment of Foot, later to become the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
    The battle of Alma gets its name from a river in the south west of the Crimea. Between the River Alma and the River Katcha stood Telegraph Hill and Kourganie Hill with a plateau between them three miles upstream. It was on this plateau that the Russian commander, Prince Manshikov, had massed 33,000 infantry, 3,800 cavalry and 120 guns in a formidable redoubt.
    As the British infantry attacked up the steep hill in mass formation, they came under devastating fire from the high ground. In spite of this, the British, including the Scots Fusilier Guards and the 23rd Regiment of Foot, fought on, decimated by enemy artillery, but still advancing with fixed bayonets. Only a few of them lived to reach the ‘Great Battery’ position of enemy guns, but already the Russian gunners had limbered up for the retreat.
    It was Captain Bell who led the remnants of his 23rd Welshmen in one more bayonet charge. Then, single handed, he seized the reins of the lead horse of the Russian gun-team, wheeled it round, and captured the fieldpiece.
    By this time the regiment’s commanding officer, Col. Chester, had been killed, and the second in command, Captain Campbell, had fallen badly wounded. This left Captain Bell in command to muster the few exhausted men of his regiment and to successfully bring them – and the Russian gun – back to the British lines.
    This was the first and only effective field gun captured from the Russians at the Battle of Alma. It was afterwards known as Bell’s Gun, and was eventually brought to England and put on display at Woolwich. It was later moved to Wales, where it can now be seen on the ground floor of the museum at Carnarvon Castle.
    At that time (1854), there was no such thing as the Victoria Cross. More than two years were to pass before the London Gazette announced that Captain EWD Bell was to be the first British soldier to receive the new award. Not only was he the first British soldier, he also has the distinction of being the first Brother to be awarded the supreme accolade for his valorous deeds.

The Zulu War

What follows is a much abridged incident concerning two gallant Freemasons: Teignmouth Melvill, V.C., Lieutenant (Adjutant) 1st Battalion 24th Regiment of Foot (2nd Warwickshires), St John and St Paul Lodge No 349, Malta. Melita Conclave of Knights Templar No 37, and Nevill Josiah Aylmer Coghill, V.C., Lieutenant, 24th Regiment, The South Wales Borderers. Leinster Lodge No 387 (Irish Constitution), Malta.
    Teignmouth Melvill was born in London on 8 September 1842, the younger son of Philip Melvill, late Secretary in the Military Department to the East India Company, by his marriage to Eliza, daughter of Col. Sandy, of Helston. Teignmouth was educated at Harrow, Cheltenham and Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in February 1865.
    Nevill JA Coghill was born in Dublin, 25 January 1852, the son of Sir Joscelyn Coghill, Baronet. His mother, Lady Katherine Coghill was the sister of Lord Plunket. Nevill was educated at Haileybury. He was commissioned in the 24th Regiment and served as Aide-de-Camp to Sir Arthur Cunyinghame in the Galeka Campaign of 1877.
    On 22 January 1879, the day of the fatal attack on the camp at Isandhlwana, South Africa, Lieutenant Teignmouth Melvill departed from the camp on horseback, carrying the Colour of the 24th Regiment with him, in the hope of being able to save it. The only road to Rorke’s Drift already being in possession of the enemy, Lieutenant Melvill and a few others who still remained alive struck across country for the Buffalo River, which it was necessary to cross to each a point of safety.
    During this distance of about six miles of rugged and precipitous country, a large number of the enemy managed to keep a constant fire on them and sometimes even got close enough to assegai the men and horses.
    When Lieutenant Melvill reached the bank of the Buffalo, he at once plunged in with his horse but became separated from it about half way across, the river being full and running rapidly. However, he held resolutely to the Colour and was being carried downstream when he was washed against a large rock in the middle of the river. Lieutenant Higginson, of the Natal Native Contingent, who had also lost his horse in the river, was climbing onto this rock, and Lieutenant Melvill called to him to lay hold of the Colour. This Lieutenant Higginson did, but the current was so strong that both officers and the Colour were again washed away.
    In the meantime, Lieutenant Coghill, who had been left in the camp that morning, owing to a severe injury to his knee which rendered him unable to move without assistance, had also succeeded in gaining the river bank in company with Lieutenant Melvill. He too had plunged at once into the river, only his horse had carried him safely across. But on looking round for Lieutenant Melvill, and seeing him struggling to save the Colour, he at once turned his horse and rode back into the stream to give assistance.
    By this time, the enemy had assembled in considerable force along their own banks, and had opened a heavy fire, directing it more especially on Lieutenant Melvill, who wore a red patrol jacket; so that when Lieutenant Coghill got into the river again his horse was almost immediately killed by a bullet. Lieutenant Coghill was then cast loose in the stream also, and notwithstanding the exertions of both these valiant officers, the Colour was carried off from them by the current, and they themselves gained the bank in a state of extreme exhaustion. One can only imagine their feelings having lost the Colour after so much effort.
    It would appear that they now attempted to move up the hill from the river bank towards Helpmakas, but must have been too exhausted to go on, as they were seen to sit down and rest. This was the last time that these two gallant men were seen alive. Later a search for any trace of them that could be found was made and both bodies were found where they were last seen. Several dead bodies of the enemy were found about them, so they must have sold their lives dearly at the last.

The George Cross

On 23 September 1940, His Majesty King George VI announced the institution of the George Cross in a broadcast to the nation. His words were: “Many and glorious are the deeds of gallantry done during these perilous but famous days. In order that they should be worthily and promptly recognised, I have decided to create at once a new mark of honour for men and women in all walks of civilian life.”
    As the Royal Warrant proclaims, the George Cross is “awarded only for acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger”. It is intended for deeds of great gallantry not in direct contact with the enemy’s fighting forces, although in many cases this line is blurred and impossible to define.
    There is little doubt that, in those troubled days, His Majesty had in mind those who risked, and often lost their lives, in mine and bomb disposal, and in seeking to save the lives of others in fire and flood, in bombed buildings and burning aircraft. Later, he approved awards to those Prisoners of War who stood firm in captivity against ruthless and savage enemies, as well as to members of our Police Force, who hold fast for law and decency, equally risking their lives against armed, dangerous criminals.
    The George Cross is probably the world’s rarest award for gallantry, and despite the natural disasters, dangerous crimes and terrorist actions that disturb the peace of our world today, only two deeds have been deemed worthy of this award during the past 15 years.
    One of these deeds was that of Leonard Henry Harrison, G.C., Civilian Armaments Instructor (Wing Commander). Leuchar Lodge (Aberdeenshire West) No 1224, Peterculter, Scotland.
    Len Harrison was born on 6 January 1906 in Devonport, Devon. In 1922 he joined the Royal Air Force and served for 12 years until 1934. He then continued as a Civilian Armaments Instructor (Grade I), and became one of the first and most respected of gallant men who risked their lives every day on bomb disposal duties. In 1941, Len Harrison rejoined the Air Force, and rose to the rank of Wing Commander.
    On 11 February 1940 the SS Kildare, a grain carrier, was hit by two bombs. One exploded in the grain, which shifted, causing the vessel to list heavily; the other lodged in the after deck cabin but did not explode. The ship limped into Immingham Dock, north Lincolnshire. Civilian Armament Instructor Harrison, with Flight Lieutenant Dowland and another civilian instructor as his assistants went to deal with the situation.
    On entering the cabin, they found that the crew had eased their task somewhat by placing mattresses under the bomb to stop it rolling about, and the fuses were uppermost. Mr Harrison then carried out the procedure which he, as an instructor, had laid down for dealing with fuses. This was to apply a voltmeter to drain the electric charge, and then remove the locking rings that rendered the bomb harmless. When this operation had been successfully completed, the bomb was lowered over the ship on to a waiting RAF lorry and taken away for examination. A month later he was called to Grimsby where he dealt successfully with an enemy missile which had fallen on the deck of a small fishing boat in the Humber.
    This was the first action for which the George Cross was awarded. Bro Harrison retired from the RAF in 1949 but remained at the Air Ministry until 1970.

The above deeds are those of but four of the 118 Freemasons whose courage must surely stir the dedicated hearts of fellow Brothers the world over.